News Archive

Routine Monitoring Violation Total Coliform Rule

The City of Hico/PWS #0970002 failed to collect the required number of bacteriological samples for coliform monitoring of the water distribution system during January, 2016. This monitoring is required by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's "Drinking Water Standards" and the federal "Safe Drinking Water Act," Public Law 95-523.

Bacteriological samples are used to monitor water quality and indicate if the water is free of coliform bacteria. Our water system is required to submit 2 bacteriological samples each month. Failure to collect all required bacteriological samples is a violation of the monitoring requirements and we are required to notify you of this violation.

Staff submitted 4 bacteriological samples from our system during January, but those were related to the construction of new water lines and didn't satisfy the monitoring requirements. None of the samples have shown any problem with water quality; we simply failed to submit the required samples. Our operators monitor disinfectant levels in our water system on a daily basis to ensure compliance with state standards.

If you have any questions regarding this violation, you may contact City Administrator Michael Leamons at (254) 796-4620.

Public Hearing on Comprehensive Plan

The City of Hico will hold a public hearing at 5:45 pm on March 28, 2016, at Hico City Hall, 120 W. First Street, Hico, Texas regarding the City's Future Land Use Plan and associated map(s), which are part of a Comprehensive Plan the City is considering adopting.

ENGINEERING & GRANT ADMINISTRATION SERVICES

The City of Hico has recently received a Contract award from the Texas Department of Agriculture Office of Rural Affairs (TDA) for constructing sidewalks and making other improvements to the downtown. Accordingly, the City is seeking to contract with a qualified Professional Administrator or Service Provider to administer the contract and to contract with an Engineering Firm to prepare all preliminary and final design plans and specifications, and to conduct all necessary interim and final inspections.

Please submit your proposal of services and a statement of qualifications for the proposed services to the address below:

Mayor Michael Price
P.O. Box 533
120 W. First Street
Hico, TX 76457

Proposals shall be received by the City/County no earlier than ten (10) days after this publication and no later than 5:00 p.m. on the March 30, 2016 to be considered. The City reserves the right to negotiate with any and all individuals or firms that submit proposals, as per the Texas Professional Services Procurement Act and the Uniform Grant and Contract Management Standards. Section 3 Residents and Business Concerns, Minority Business Enterprises, Small Business Enterprises and Women Business Enterprises are encouraged to submit proposals.

2015-2016 Budget Filed

The proposed City of Hico 2015-2016 Budget has been filed with the City Secretary. It is available for viewing at City Hall and can be accessed on this site through the City Government - Budget/Audit tabs at the left.

Rezoning Request

The Planning and Zoning Commission will be conducting a Public Hearing in the City Hall Conference Room, 120 W. First Street, Hico, Texas, at 5:30 p.m. on June 18th to consider a request to rezone 102 S. Mesquite Street (located at the southeast corner of S. Mesquite and E. First Streets), described as Lots 6 & 7, Block 1, Original Hico. The property is currently zoned Residential A-5 (One Family). The request is to rezone the property as General Commercial "F".

At the conclusion of the Public Hearing, the Planning and Zoning Commission will decide upon its recommendation regarding the rezoning request and will forward that recommendation to the City Council.

A copy of the City of Hico Zoning Ordinance and Map are available for review at City Hall and are also posted on the City's website atwww.hico-tx.com(to find the Zoning Ordinance, go to the City Government - Municipal Code fly-outs on the left side of our home page; then, click on the "Ordinances" link). Should you have any questions or concerns, please plan to attend the Public Hearing or call City Hall at 254-796-4620.

Lot for Sale

NOTICE: The City of Hico is accepting sealed bids on an unimproved 100' X 200' lot in the Hillcrest Addition, immediately to the west of 537 E. Third Street. The lot is bounded on the north by E. Third Street, on the west by Poverty Hill Lane and on the south by an alley. Zoned as "A-5," single family residential. Buyer responsible for all closing costs. Sealed bids marked "Hillcrest Lot" may be either mailed or delivered to Hico City Hall, 120 W. First, PO Box 533, Hico, TX, 76457 and must be received by 5:00 p.m., July 10, 2015. Bids will be opened at the July 13, 2015, 6:00 p.m. Council Meeting at City Hall. The City reserves the right to reject all bids. For more information, call 254-796-4620.

Solicitation for Street Repair and Resurfacing Bids

NOTICE: The City of Hico is soliciting bids for street repair and resurfacing. Bid documents available at City Hall. Sealed bids marked "Street Repairs" due prior to the public bid opening on June 18th at 1:30 p.m. at City Hall, 120 W. First, Hico, TX 76457. For information call 254-796-4620.

When in Texas: Wear a Hat, Eat a Steak, Thank a Bee

by Ryan McCrimmon, April 21, 2015, The Texas Tribune

...Jasper wants to be the official Butterfly Capital of Texas; Hico covets the nod for official Steak Capital; and Jim Hogg County wants to be known as the Vaquero Capital. The Texas State Library and Archives Commission maintains a list of official state capital designations -- approved by the Legislature over the years -- from the Dinosaur Capital (Glen Rose) to the Balloon Race Capital (Gregg County) to the Seedless Watermelon Capital (Knox City). Hoping to add Hico to that list, state Rep. J.D. Sheffield, R-Gatesville, told the committee the city of 1,300, is home to the annual Texas Steak Cookoff, which draws about 7,000 people one Saturday every year...The committee approved sending on to the full House designations for Hico as the Steak Capital and honeybees as the State Pollinator, but lost its quorum before reaching votes on the other suggestions. Read more...

Surplus City Equipment Sale

The City will be selling surplus equipment. Bids to be opened at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, April 24th at City Hall at 120 W. First Street. All of the items being sold are listed on the bid form at this link or at City Hall. The items will be available for viewing at the City Utility Yard on Utility Street from 8:00 a.m. until noon and from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. during the week of April 20th. Some of the more substantial offerings include 2 Ford F150 pickups and a 12' X 20' portable building.

DINNER, DANCE, LIVE MUSIC, RAFFLE!

TICKETS available at Mills County State Bank in Hico, Blue Star Trading, and the Hico Activity Center

$15 for DINNER & DANCE tickets for the grownups
$5 for children ages 3-12
Free for children under 3
Dinner: BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich and fixins'.

$20 for each RAFFLE TICKET to win a John Deere Gator 4x4. Tickets sold separately from dinner & dance tickets at same locations. Winner will be drawn during the Texas Steak Cook-Off in Hico on May 16, 2015. Not required to be present to win.

All proceeds benefit the Hico Senior Center Foundation.

Celebrity chef to take part in Texas Steak Cookoff
May 3, 2014 by Lainey Emoto, Stephenville Empire-Tribune

Celebrity Chef, Freida Nicole Davenport

Organizers of the Texas Steak Cookoff have announced the name of the celebrity chef cooking for the VIP dinner portion of the celebration in historic downtown Hico on May 17.

Davenport describes her style of cooking as gourmet ranch cuisine with an emphasis on local farm-to-table produce and meats. But it's more than just meat and potatoes. It's "really good food presented in a beautiful way." She also specializes in old-world breads and baked goods. Read more...

NOTICE OF TAX REVENUE INCREASE

The City of Hico conducted a public hearing on August 11th and will conduct another public hearing on August 25th on a proposal to increase the total tax revenues of the City of Hico from properties on the tax roll in the preceding year by 1.2 percent. Read more...

Notice of 2014-2015 Budget Hearing

A public hearing on the 2014/2015 City of Hico Budget will be conducted at City Hall, 120 W. First Street, Hico, Texas, on Monday, September 8th at 5:40 P.M. The proposed budget is based on maintaining the existing property tax rate and is available for review at City Hall and at this link . Due to increases in the property tax base, the amount of property tax revenues raised will increase by 1.2%.

Discover Historic Downtown Hico at the Annual Texas Steak Cookoff
from the May 2014 Hill Country Current

The 11th annual Texas Steak Cookoff is just around the corner. On Saturday, May 17, 2014, cooks, vendors, and tourists from around the state will make their way to historic downtown Hico, Texas - rain or shine. Hico is just 90 minutes southwest of the Dallas/Ft Worth Metroplex and approximately two hours north of Austin on scenic U.S. 281. Read more...

Hico's One Act Play headed to Austin
May 6, 2014, Special to the Stephenville Empire-Tribune

Hico High School's One Act Play, "Alice in Wonderland," was selected to advance to the state competition in Austin on May 21.

Hico won the UIL Region II-1A One Act Play Contest with unprecedented awards. Hico's adaptation of "Alice in Wonderland" was written by Gary Brister, Hico's OAP director. It is based on the original works "Alice's Adventure in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass," by Lewis Carroll. The theme of this version is "Life is hard, one must adjust." Read more...

Archaeologists believe that people were riding horses as early as 10,000 B.C. with the first stirrups showing up remarkably late in the horse-and-human relationship in Assyria at about 850 B.C. Since then the technology of stirrup construction has morphed this way and that, but for a long time, the stirrups used in western saddle making haven't changed much. However a local company, Crooked Stirrups outside Hico, has changed all that dramatically. Read more...

Right in the heart of things in laid-back Hico, within easy-strolling distance of store after store of fun shopping, is The Upstairs Inn and Drink Shoppe. Owned and operated by Jennifer Jones, it's easily one of the most unique small businesses in our area. As the name implies, on top it's a charming three-room hotel offering two rooms with two queen-sized beds and one room with one king-sized bed. Each has its own bathroom. On the ground floor it's a quirky, cool wine and liquor store. Read more...

Not everyone who longs so badly to be someone who works full time with horses is willing to run away from home to do it. But that is exactly what Canadian-born Bobby Kerr, rodeo performer and TV personality from Hico, did when he was only 14. Read more...

Tigers Run to Final Four
by Caleb McCaig, Stephenville Empire-Tribune, Dec. 7, 2013

photo by CALEB MCCAIG/E-T

ROBINSON - The sweet taste of victory made the bitter cold more bearable for the Hico Tigers, who defeated the Goldthwaite Eagles 14-7 in a 1A Division I quarterfinal at Rocket Stadium Saturday afternoon. Read more...

For a small town with a population of 1,374, Hico's got a lot more going on than most towns its size. On the perimeter of the Hill Country, it's a perfect day trip for visitors from the Metroplex. It has chic shopping with rustic roots. It hosts large, impressive events such as The Texas Steak Cookoff, the Homestead Antique Fair, Billy the Kid Day and Six Man Super Saturday Football. Read more...

Small towns with populations of under 1,500 people dot the landscape in Texas, each with its own economic ups and downs, and some drying up and blowing away altogether in these economic times.

Not so with Hico, a town with a population of 1,374 according to the 2010 U.S. Census. Like its counterparts in the state, it's had its boom times and rough times, but largely due to a dedicated group of civic-minded citizens over the past 100 years, this little town just keeps on cranking. Read more...

You probably haven't heard of Hico, Texas. With a population of well under 2,000, the city's motto, "Where everybody is somebody," captures its all-American charm.

U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Shawn Hefner may have lived in a small town, but his dreams were larger than life.
"He was always talking about being a Marine because his dad was a Marine," Shawn's mother, Robin Hefner, told The Unknown Soldiers. Read more...

Good News for Hico!
by City Administrator Leamons, November 13, 2013

Good news for the City! At Monday's meeting, the Council authorized the last piece of a 3 year effort to secure funding for making repairs and improvements to the water system. Approximately $3.1 million in funding with 50% loan forgiveness and with the balance at a subsidized interest rate has been secured from the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB). Read more....

Hico: Community Comes Together To Keep Activity Center Open
By: Brittany Semadeni

HICO (July 23, 2013)--City, county and community leaders are coming together to keep the Hico Activity Center open after federal grants were denied to the center last year. Read more...

Hood County deputy dies at JPS after Friday shooting
By Bill Hanna and Bill Miller(Fort Worth Star-Telegram, June 29, 2013)

FORT WORTH -- A Hood County deputy shot after responding to a disturbance call near Lake Granbury died Saturday, officials said. Sgt. Lance McLean, 38, of Hico was taken by helicopter ambulance to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth after he was shot in the head Friday. He was pronounced dead at 11:45 a.m.

Hood County Sheriff Roger Deeds called McLean, who was a member of the city-county SWAT team, "a great leader" who likely would have been promoted to lieutenant or captain. "He could take care of business," the sheriff said during an afternoon news conference at JPS. Read more...

...In the Tyrrell Library's collection, they have a collection of approximately 76 letters written to Lottye Fewell, from Tom Woods, while he served overseas in WWI...Woods was born southwest of Dallas in Hico, Texas, in June 1891, and Fewell was born in June 1898 in Iredell, only a few miles east of Hico. Read more....

Walker [former Hico Ag teacher and Superintendent] was just two days shy of his 19th birthday when the Bunker Hill aircraft carrier he was aboard was hit by two Japanese kamikaze (suicide) planes in May 1945 off the coast of Okinawa in the Western Pacific.

"It was like a string of firecrackers going off," he recalled. "All that jet fuel just burned and burned. And water was coming in from the damage. I remember the ship's second in command, the Navigation Officer, Commander Odend'hal, set the ship in a circular drift, and as it circled, the burning fuel and water from the deck just slid off and into the sea. It was the strangest looking thing." Read more...

AUSTIN - Blake Wood is the best pole vaulter in Class A Division I in 2013, and just missed becoming the best pole vaulter in the history of that classification.

Wood, a Hico senior who has signed with Texas Tech, cleared 12 feet to win the gold medal at the 2013 UIL Track & Field Championships at Mike A. Myers Stadium Friday afternoon. She tried 12 feet, 4 inches for the Class A state record and went over the bar but hit it with her arm on the way down. The record is 12-3. Read more....

TWDB approves $3,035,893 in financial assistance for Hico

AUSTIN - (July 18, 2013) - The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) today approved by resolution financial assistance in the amount of $3,035,893 to the City of Hico (Hamilton County) consisting of a $1,520,000 loan and $1,515,893 in loan forgiveness from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to finance water system improvements.

The City of Hico intends to use the funds to address issues with its water distribution system. The TWDB is the state agency charged with collecting and disseminating water-related data, assisting with regional planning and preparing the State Water Plan for the development of the state's water resources. The TWDB administers cost-effective financial programs for the construction of water supply, wastewater treatment, flood control, and agricultural water conservation projects.

Bob Perry, a wealthy homebuilder and philanthropist who was among the nation's largest political givers, has died at his home in Nassau Bay, near Houston. He was 80. [His father, Baylor Dean of Men W. C. Perry, had roots in Hico.] Read more...

Water Quality

PRCA champion tie-down roper Cody Ohl (featured in an artcle near the bottom of this page) is bringing a Professional Bull Riders sanctioned bull riding event, The Texas Steak Cookoff Chute Out, to Hico as a grand finale for the 10th Annual Texas Steak Cookoff. The event, featuring 35 bull riders, will be conducted at Hico City Park on the banks of the Bosque River beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 18th. Supreme Extreme Mustang Makeover Champion Bobby Kerr (featured in a video near the bottom of this page) will be providing entertainment during a break from the bull riding. Ticket information is available through the PBR calendar .

Good News on the Financial Front
by City Administrator Michael Leamons

In recent weeks, the City has received some good news. We were able to free-up about $80,000 a year by restructuring our Utility System debt, and we received notice from the Texas Water Development Board that the City's request for funding for improvements to our water system had been approved. Read more...

Goldthwaite to Buy First National Bancshares in Texas
by Chris Cumming, American Banker, May 24, 2013

...First National Chief Executive Dianne Stone, who owns approximately 80% of the company, plans to retire and wanted to find a buyer with a culture similar to First National's, according to C.K. Lee, managing director of Commerce Street."What was important was not selling to the first bidder, but finding a bank in the same geographic area that would provide the same level of service that her customers had gotten used to," Lee said. "She wanted to preserve the community-bank feel." Read more...

GLEN ROSE -- Like a preening Texas cowboy strutting his stuff on a barroom dance floor, the testosterone-stoked little guy is doing his best to attract a cute hen. His neck sac is inflated like two orange balloons; he's stamping out a steady drum roll with his feet, extending showy feathers over his head, puffing up his chest, throwing back his wings and letting loose a mesmerizing booming sound. But what makes the Attwater's prairie chicken's mating ritual all the more imperative is that it also represents a last dance by a bird on the edge of extinction. Read more...

Commercial modular building firm Ramtech Building Systems of Mansfield, TX has announced that the company has secured a contract for the design, manufacture, and construction of a new eight-classroom modular building and two portable classrooms for the Hico Independent School District in Hico, TX. Part of a district wide facility consolidation program, the multiple classroom building will be installed on the parking lot at the current junior high school location...Read more...

The 10th annual Texas Steak Cookoff is just around the corner. On Saturday, May 18, cooks, vendors, and tourists from around the state will make their way to historic downtown Hico - rain or shine. The Texas Steak Cookoff is the largest steak cookoff in the Southwest...Read more...

On Thursday, April 25th at 6:00 p.m. at the Hico Activity Center, the City of Hico is sponsoring a workshop to help equip local citizens, who feel their property has been over-valued on the tax rolls, to file a protest with the appraisal district. As do the other local taxing entities, the City needs property tax revenues to fund the (non-utility) services it provides. The City Council, however, doesn't want anyone paying more taxes than they ought to. Read more....

City of Hico Soliciting RFQs for TWDB Project

The City of Hico is soliciting RFQs from financial, bond counsel and engineering firms for a TWDB Project which is expected to be approved and funded later this year. Read more...

RFQ UPDATES
The zip code on the Bond Counsel RFQ is incorrect. The correct zip code is 76457.
A few questions were received regarding the Engineering RFQ. Those questions and the answers to them follow:
1. Page 1, paragraph 3. I assume that the "DO NOT INCLUDE COST INFORMATION" is referring to our engineering fees only. We often describe the size of a project with a statement similar to, "SRA designed a $1.5 million, 24" diameter pipeline for the City of XYZ". Will this type of cost information be acceptable?

Answer: Correct, "cost information" refers only to engineering fees.

2. The scope is described as including an automated metering system. Does this include both large diameter transmission meters as well as residential and commercial service meters?

Answer: The automated metering system will probably be confined to residential and commercial service meters. However, it is possible metering at the two City wells and at the transfer pump station could be included.

3. Have you posted any addendums or updates? I haven't seen any, but I just wanted to double check.

Answer: No addendums or updates have been posted.

Strategy Session for Senior Citizen Center

On March 28th during the noon hour, concerned citizens are invited to attend a strategy session regarding the future of the Hico Senior Citizen Center (perhaps soon to be Hico Activity Center). Read more..

Equine educators never stop learning

by Barbara Duckworth, The Western Producer

"We never stop learning and that is why we don't call ourselves trainers. We educate." The couple [Michael and Tiffany Richards, based in Hico, ed.] teaches relaxation, harmony and balance for rider and horse. Harmony and balance are especially important for Michael, who has been a paraplegic since 1986 after a Jeep rollover. He had to develop a new perspective about the world around him, which came partly from therapeutic riding that started five weeks after his accident.Read more...

Sandra Airola and husband John were living in Germany in the late 1990s when she became interested in sport horses found throughout Europe. The horses, which includes the Hanoverians, Oldenburgs, Belgian Warmbloods and other breeds, are part of the widely bred "war horse" descendants. These stout, sometimes beefy horses were used to pull carts, plows and perform other duties around the farms of Belgium, Germany, England and other European countries but they are best recognized for their value in battle. If you saw the popular movie, "War Horse"...read more .

Unless you like to stare at bumpers, avoid I-35
by Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

The "Main Street of North America" is more like the Main Headache. So until Interstate 35 is finished in 2014, expect traffic jams in Hico.

"It was bumper to bumper last weekend -- five blocks solid," said Lynn Allen, owner of the 45-year-old Koffee Kup Family Restaurant, a burger-and-pie landmark on U.S. 281. But on I-35, the backup was 10 miles.

In a blunt warning, state highway officials in Fort Worth are urging motorists to drive U.S. 281 to Austin and completely stay off I-35, slowed for 60 miles of expansion projects between Waco and Temple. Read more...

When Opportunity Knocks

Hico began as a frontier trading post located on Honey Creek some 2 1/2 miles southeast of its present location. When the railroad came, community leaders heard opportunity knocking. They responded by relocating Hico to the railroad. Plank-by-plank the town was torn down, moved to its present location and rebuilt. Talk about commitment to economic growth! Read more...

"Texas Dames" (The History Press, $19.95 paperback) is subtitled "Sassy and Savvy Women Throughout Lone Star History" and includes 53 stories of women, many of whom you probably haven't read about before, such as the Rev. Mary Billings of Hico, perhaps the first ordained women minister in Texas. She was 68 when her husband ordained her in 1892, and she became an outspoken proponent of prohibition. Read more...

City-wide Clean-up This Saturday

The Hico Beautification Committee is sponsoring a city-wide clean-up this Saturday, March 23rd. City residents may dispose of household garbage at the Transfer Station free of charge. Volunteers will be available to help unload vehicles at the Transfer Station, while other volunteers with trailers will be available to pick up loads for those without the appropriate means of transporting waste. For additional information, please call City Hall at (254) 796-4620

March 28th Meeting On New Vision for the Senior Center
by City Administrator Leamons

As you probably recall, last year the community almost lost the Senior Citizen Program when Hill County Community Action announced it would be terminating its involvement in Hico and Lometa unless local financial support was increased significantly. As a stop-gap measure, the Senior Citizen Foundation, County and City agreed to provide the additional funding necessary to keep the program going through September 30thof this year. Read more .

Aldermen Koonsman, James and Cryer to Serve Another Term

Only the three incumbents, Linda Koonsman, Mike James and Betti Cryer, filed for the three open seats on the Hico City Council, so the City will not be conducting an election this May.

After a long and remarkable rise to the top of American advertising, Jim Ferguson was back home in Texas in 2011, running a boutique agency in Dallas and making weekend jaunts to his boyhood home, Hico, population 1,300. His brother and parents were there, and so was the six-man-football festival he helped create, as well as the memories of collecting eggs, working on a turkey farm and hanging out with friends at the Koffee Kup Family Restaurant.

But that summer, a man named Stuart Stevens came calling. A senior strategist for presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Stevens had a slightly less bucolic vision in mind for Ferguson. He wanted him to serve as creative director and chief image maker for the Republican's 2012 campaign. Read more...

If you hear the name Hico, Texas, what's the first thing that comes to your mind? Perhaps many would say Ollie L. Roberts, aka "Brushy Bill" Roberts, aka William Henry Roberts -- a Hico resident during the late 1940s who claimed to have been the infamous outlaw Billy the Kid.

It's little towns such as Hico, population 1,400, that make the Texas Midwest Conference work, said Linda Koonsman. She's mayor pro tem there..."We have a good school system, good business atmosphere and friendly people," Koonsman boasted. "More than anything else we would like more industry to come in." Read more...

Over the weekend, 21 Airstream travel trailers set up camp in City Park. It wasn't the best of weather for an outing, but campers who visited City Hall expressed admiration for our Park and the recent improvements.Read more...

Hico 1893 Ordinances Re-Discovered

A bound volume of Hico Ordinances published in 1893 was recently discovered in the Texas Collection of Baylor University. The ordinances provide an interesting glimpse into the technology, issues, culture and organizational structure of late 19th century Hico. The document has been scanned and posted in the Municipal Code section of the website (at the bottom of the page) and can be viewed by anyone with an Adobe X reader.

Texas town wants lower property values

by Eva-Marie Ayala, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

It's a win-lose proposal for Hico, but City Council members say it's the right thing to do...Higher property values typically mean more money for a city's coffers, but Hico officials say the appraisals don't reflect the real estate market and are squeezing homeowners in the city of about 1,400 some 60 miles southwest of Fort Worth.Read more...

Needs Assessment Survey of Regional Ground Transportation

Anyone interested may participate in the above survey by clicking on this LINK .

Senior Citizen Center and Law Enforcement Updates

Thanks are due all the citizens who engaged and helped preserve Hico's Senior Citizen Program...Read more...

The attorney general has ruled; appraisal districts must comply

by Marlene J. Bohr, The Daingerfield Bee

"I believe first that this opinion gives every homeowner in Texas what we have asked for and that is fair and equitable appraisals," Mr. Davis said. "It gives us everything that we asked, but more importantly, my hats off to Sen. Eltife, Sen. Dan Patrick, and Rep. Ken Paxton for having the courage to first pass this law and then second, to follow through and see that the law is being enforced. What has occurred is that when a law passed that someone in power, the appraisal district in this case, disagreed with, they chose to ignore it. In this particular case the appraisal district will no longer be able to ignore existing law and in fact, should they continue to ignore it as they have in the past, they will be subjecting themselves to official oppression and official conduct charges both civilly and criminally. This has been reaffirmed by the Attorney General's office." Read more...

Hico's Justin Yost Wins Team Roping Event

At 6.5 seconds, Hico's Justin Yost and partner Bucky Campbell of Benton City, Washington took first place in team roping in the first leg of the Harley Tucker Rodeo Series in Union Oregon.Read more in the LaGrande Observer...

August 13th City Council Agenda Column

The City is moving forward with plans to re-establish the Hico Police Department. As with any government-related endeavor, there are reams of paperwork. One official with Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Education (TCLEOSE) suggested the process could take as much as two months to complete. Read more...

Appeal to the Hill Country Community Action Board to save the Hico and Lometa Senior Citizen Programs

...Lometa and Hico, with populations of 856 and 1,379, respectively are the two smallest program participants in HCCA's service area. Additionally, with a per capita income of $10,428, Lometa is the most economically challenged community in the service area. With a per capita income of $14,122, Hico comes in 4th from the bottom. The State average is $19,617. We propose, rather than causing the full brunt of the shortfall to fall upon the service area's two smallest and most economically challenged communities, the deficit be made up by a 5% across the board reduction in the program...

...Last week, when speaking with a member of the Silver Haired Legislature, I mentioned how I was looking for a senior citizens advocate. That individual said, "HCCA used to be that advocate, but over time its focus has shifted from advocacy to program administration." With the decision now facing this Board, I'm asking you to restore this agency to its historic role as advocate for the region's senior citizens. Read more...

Hico Senior Citizen Program in Jeopardy

by City Administrator Leamons

On July 19th, Peggy Forrest and Vela Booker, the directors of the Senior Citizen nutrition (including meals on wheels), utility assistance and weatherization programs in Hico and Lometa, respectively, were informed the programs at their two centers would be eliminated effective September 30, 2012...The loss of the Senior Citizen Program would be a real blow to some of our citizens. Obviously, some will suffer financially, but many more will suffer socially. The program serves as a nucleus for a number of social venues.Read more...

County Judge and Commissioners Choose Not to Place Hico's Counter Offer on the July 23rd Agenda

On Wednesday, July 18th, the day the Joint Law Enforcement Contract for 2013 offered by Hamilton County was set to expire, City Administrator Michael Leamons delivered the City of Hico's counter. Judge Randy Mills informed Leamons he had already been made aware of what was being offered, and that he had spoken with all of the Commissioners except for Boatwright about the matter. He said any one member of the Court could request the item be placed on the agenda, but that the Hico counter wasn't expected to make it onto Monday's agenda. Friday morning, Leamons was told, as expected, the matter hadn't made it onto the agenda. Mayor Lavern Tooley has called a special City Council Meeting for 1:00 p.m., Monday, July 23rd to consider Hamilton County's response and to make contingency plans for a City operated police department.

City Council Counters on Law Enforcement Contract

(And Wants Tax Appraisals to Reflect Real Market Values)

The City Council continues to grapple with Hico's law enforcement options. At a recent Town Hall Meeting, the majority of those who spoke were opposed to continuing the joint law enforcement with Hamilton County. Citizens expressed dis-satisfaction with the level of service and with the significantly higher price tag placed on this year's contract by the Commissioners Court ($227,000 versus last year's $150,000). Read more...

Coach Williams took Hico through 20 years of success, making the playoffs 16 times and reaching the Class 2A state quarterfinals in 2002.Read more...

Big, beefy event set for Hico on Saturday (This year's event is already past, but make plans to be part of next year's 10th Annual Steak Cookoff---webmaster)

by Kim Pierce/Reporter, dallasnews.com

Historic downtown Hico, about 90 minutes southwest of Dallas, is the site of the Ninth Annual Texas Steak Cook-off, an event where amateurs compete to produce the best 12-ounce Texas ribeye and lay claim to the title "Best Steak in Texas," Read more...

Nothing could be scarier for the world leaders in the tie down roping than the image of Cody Ohl (of Hico) looming in the rear view mirror. The six time World Champ thrives on pressure and adversity. Read More...